You Will Be Waiting
by pokeitlikejello
Summary: Oneshot. Mulder and Scully haven't had the easiest time adjusting to life after the X-Files. A little snippet of angst and love between the two.


**Author's Note:** This takes place about a year or so after the series finale.

* * *

Her coffee mug was cool in her hands. He wasn't back yet. She was waiting. He was missing when she awoke and although that wasn't completely unusual, it was beginning to get on her nerves when she found herself alone in a bed they shared more often than not.

The front door banged closed. Scully let her eyes fall shut and drew in a breath. Mulder stopped in the doorway to the kitchen. He scratched at his beard, trying to gauge how upset she was.

"Scully."

She opened her eyes and looked to him.

"What time did you wake up?" he asked.

"Three," she answered. "You were missing, I thought I'd wait for your return."

He took a step into the kitchen. "There was a case—"

"And you thought it was a good idea to sneak out for answers in the middle of the night?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"I thought you'd have stayed asleep until you had to get ready for work," he responded honestly.

Scully shook her head as she stood to her feet. "I would have been up an hour ago to discover your absence anyway. I'm tired of this."

She turned away from him and headed out the back door. The air was crisp and the dew was illuminated by the early morning sun. Scully headed down the back steps and towards the woods. She didn't have an intended destination, but she needed to get away from him.

Mulder remained in the kitchen for a moment before following her out the back door. He went quickly down the steps and tried to catch up to her.

"Scully," he called out to her.

She didn't stop, so he picked up his pace to a jog. He caught up to her side and grabbed her arm, stopping her. Scully turned to face him and pulled her arm from his grasp.

"Let me explain," he said.

"Explain what, Mulder?" she asked. "It's the same thing all the time. This isn't my life anymore and it shouldn't be yours either."

"But how can I stop, Scully?" he replied. "Tell me how to stop when there's still truth out there. When there are still lies out there."

Scully looked him over a moment, realizing he wasn't on the same plane as she. She shook her head slightly.

"You don't understand, do you? It's not about that."

She was right. He didn't understand. Mulder looked out over the field, not wanting to admit that he had no clue as to what she meant. Finally, he brought his eyes back to hers.

"Then, what's it about?" he asked her.

"Knowing when to quit," she answered and moved past him, heading for the house.

"Would you just hold still a minute?" Mulder followed after her.

"I need space," she told him, glancing back. He caught up to her side. "I need... I need you to stop this."

"This what, Scully?" he replied. "You want me to just sit back and take it easy while there's so much going on out there with the aliens and the government being—"

"I'm asking you to stop because you need to think about you, Mulder," she cut him off harshly. "You want this to be your life? Living in a world where no one believes you?"

"Never thought you'd join the Spooky Mulder side, Scully, not after all you've seen." Mulder hoped his words hurt just as much as hers hurt him.

Scully shot him a look. "You know that's not—"

She stopped herself from going on, not wanting to fight. She began up the back steps.

"I have to go to work."

"Scully." He remained at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll see you later, Mulder," she told him and entered into the house.

"It was just—" He let out a sigh. "I was just researching..."

* * *

Mulder pulled up the driveway and let out a heavy breath at seeing her car parked outside the house. After their small argument two days ago, he didn't expect she would come around for at least three days. He took advantage of that time to continue his work.

But he was wrong. She had come back sooner and he hadn't been there. It was almost three in the morning and he was positive she had stayed up waiting.

He was as quiet as possible as he entered the house. There was a light coming from the kitchen. Slowly, he made his way down the hall, but stopped in the doorway to the kitchen.

Scully was sitting at the table, her laptop open in front of her. She didn't look up even though she knew he was there.

"I didn't think you'd be here tonight," he said.

"I stopped by around seven," she told him.

"And stayed up waiting," he concluded.

She lifted her head and her eyes met his. "What were you doing?"

"Why are you mad?" He avoided her question and stepped into the room.

"I'm not," she quickly responded.

"You are," he insisted. "I want you to stop acting like this is all my fault. You could have stepped away at any time."

"I wouldn't act like it was your fault so much if you actually gave a damn about someone other than yourself," she retorted and snapped her laptop closed.

"Oh, what is that supposed to mean." He took a seat across from her.

She leaned forward. "It means calling when you plan on staying out all night, especially when you know I'm here."

"I didn't know you'd be here," he defended himself.

"I was bound to stop by at some point," she told him. "Why was tonight not an option?"

He frowned. "Come on, Scully. You're just mad because I was out working. You know, I _can_ handle myself when I'm out in the world where I _shouldn't_ be."

"Don't patronize me," she snapped.

"I'm not!" He sat back in his chair. "You've been so uptight lately. You were never this uptight when we worked in the basement."

"We're not in the basement anymore, Mulder," she pointed that fact out to him bitterly.

"I know that," he replied. "I'm just saying..." He shook his head. "This hospital business you've..."

"What?" she prompted, eyebrows drawn. "Go on. Please."

"Nothing." He stood from the table.

She stood as well. "That's a loaded nothing."

"You aren't happy," he said as he went for the refrigerator.

"Neither are you," she responded.

He shot her a look. "I'm happy."

"You are not." She watched him dig around in the fridge and figured he was trying to distract from the heat of the conversation. "You lock yourself away in your little office while I'm at work. You don't—"

"I try to be happy, but you reprimand me when I stay out doing research." Mulder faced her and threw the door to the refrigerator closed.

"Research on what?" she asked.

"That's classified," he answered.

Scully held his gaze and then stormed out of the room. Mulder closed his eyes as he heard her footsteps on the staircase. He let out a breath and went after her.

When he reached the bedroom, she was packing a suitcase. He crossed to her and closed the lid to the suitcase before she could put anymore clothes in.

"Don't do this." He took both of her hands in his own, his eyes locked on her. "Don't."

She kept her gaze diverted, but let her hands remain with his. "I'm tired, Mulder. I just need a break." Scully lifted her gaze to meet his. "A long break."

"No, Scully, I'm sorry," Mulder pleaded with her. "I am. Just stop. Don't go."

"Why should I stay?" she said.

"Because I'm being an idiot, all right?" He let go of her hands and slid his fingers into her hair, his thumbs resting on her cheeks. "It's me. Okay? Will you stay? I can't..." Mulder stepped closer to her, their eyes still locked on each other. "I need you here."

"Fine," she gave in with a small nod.

"Thank you," he told her and rested his head on her shoulder.

She felt his breath against her neck. He planted a kiss there and she closed her eyes. Mulder lifted his head and brought his lips to hers. When he drew back, her eyes were open and focused on him.

Mulder went in for another kiss, deeper and fiercer. She broke from the kiss this time, breathing heavily. She pulled her shirt over her head as he worked on unbuttoned his jeans. They stepped toward the bed together and Mulder's mouth found its way back to her soft skin.

* * *

The bedroom was dark. He listened for a moment and determined she wasn't asleep. He shifted and turned onto his side, facing her. She was on her stomach, her head turned away from him.

"Still mad?" he asked.

Scully paused a moment, debating on whether she really wanted to sleep tonight or not. She figured pillow talk might be more beneficial right now than her sleep. She turned her head toward him and propped herself up on her elbows.

"It's stressful," she said. "To do this and... to hide. Whatever happened to that normal life, Mulder? The one that was easy to live without knowing the truth."

"Long gone," he replied.

"Yeah," she agreed and settled down on her side, facing his direction.

"Scully..." He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. He drew back and looked her in the eye. "You keep me sane. You think I'm nuts now, imagine what I would be like if I was living here all alone. Cramped in my office... day in and day out... talking to myself... talking to the walls... calling them 'Scully.'"

She gave him a half smile. "I get the point, Mulder."

"I didn't think things would turn out this way," he spoke honestly. "Way back in the very beginning, our first case, I thought... I _knew_ I could get you on my side. With the right evidence and enthusiasm, I could win you over. Didn't know _that_ would turn into _this_."

"How could you?" she asked.

"I've come to rely on you," he went on. "And I hope... you still rely on me too. That you know you can."

"Of course I know that," she replied.

Mulder was quiet for a moment and she let her eyes fall closed. He didn't want to keep her awake, especially since she had to be up for work in less than two hours, but he was worried if he didn't speak of it now, he'd miss his chance.

"I just don't know how to make you happy, Scully." That got her eyes to open. "How do I fix this? I can't undo the past, so what? What can I do? Not go out anymore? Done. Fine. If it'll keep you with me, if it'll make you happy."

"It's not that easy, Mulder," she told him.

"Help me make it easier," he responded. "Anything."

"You're trying hard... and I appreciate that..."

"But?"

She swallowed hard. "I need this to stop. The going out all night. The research that is all over the kitchen table, the couches in the living room, the bed. I was forced out of that life and I'm done with it. I can't—I don't want to be reminded of it. Please, Mulder, if you can't let it go, at least confine it to your office."

"That's what's bothering you?" he asked, eyebrows raised. "That's it?"

She drew in a breath and looked away.

"That's not it," Mulder concluded.

"That's mostly it." She looked back to him. "And to... be reminded of that life and all we have lost. It still hurts."

"Yeah," he agreed quietly.

"And you can't make the hurt go away," she added. "That's not something you can fix. But to clean up this place a little bit, that'll help. I want to move on with my life, Mulder, but I don't want to move on from you."

"I can compromise," Mulder assured her.

"If it's a problem—"

"It isn't."

"Or ever becomes one—"

"It won't."

He brought her into a hug. Scully let out a heavy breath and closed her eyes again. She breathed in the scent of him, realizing why she will always put up with any and all of his antics.

She couldn't leave him. Not completely. He was all she really had. He was the only one who truly understood.

"I'll keep my research in my office," he whispered into her hair. "And I won't stay out all night. If I do go out, I'll make it quick. I can't give it up, it's who I am. What I do. But I'll try to keep it away from you. You don't need me reminding you of what we were... what was... and what we had to say goodbye to... what we had to lose."

Scully felt tears well up under her eyelids. She opened her eyes and blinked away her tears.

"I'll try to be accepting," she spoke up. "And understanding. I know you try."

He kissed the top of her head. "Get some sleep. What little you can anyway."

She smiled slightly and shut her eyes. She pressed herself further into him and he tightened his hold on her. He stayed awake as he listened to her breathe.

He didn't mind confining his work to his office, but he wished she would have brought up her problems sooner. Sure, he figured she thought that since it was his house, she didn't really have much of a right to say anything. But she had been staying over so often lately, he thought she would have brought up any issues before now.

Mulder never thought twice of his display of their past life all over the house. He never thought of how it must have reminded her of the work they _did_ do together or how those thoughts would eventually lead to William.

After getting lost in his mind for a moment, he was brought back into reality with the deep breathing of Scully asleep. He looked down at her sleeping form. He would make things better for her here. After all, he didn't want to think of living his life without her.

"Night, Scully," he whispered and planted another gentle kiss to the top of her head.


End file.
